Saturday, October 31, 2009

This is a truncated version of the song, not as lush or polished of course as the original, but interesting nonetheless. The harmonies have a Kingston Trio sound to them. I especially like the use of the stand-up bass. Too bad they left out the verses with some of the best imagery.

I think Henley probably intended the title more figuratively than what these guys depict.

Edit: I originally went looking for the Eagles' version, but the only video I could find was either bootleg concert footage or a photo-montage of Eagles stills, many dating back to the Desperado shoot.

Having come of age pre-MTV, I find that music videos often pale in comparison to the theatre of the mind of one's imagination, especially with material as well written as Henley's. He was, after all, an English major at NTSU. Go Mean Green!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I suppose the message at the bottom of this sign could be easily enough passed off as Texas pride. And perhaps it is.

But, as one who has more than a bit of knowledge of the hospitality industry, what it's really saying is "This is the next-to-last lodging property in the United States not owned by someone named Patel."

Saturday, October 24, 2009

As our 30th class reunion was this past summer, some of us decided to get together for a pre-game party on campus at one of the football games. Since one of our classmates is now a department head over at ESD, this seemed like as good an opportunity as any.

One brought a shrimp & artichoke salad, another brought desserts, another drinks, and I, representing the Western sensibilities, brought The Donald's Famous Beef & Turkey Chili Con Papas y Cebollas, and an electric skillet full of various bratwursts.

No one went away hungry, but I did manage to have just enough leftover chili to garnish my ham steak and eggs over easy for breakfast this morning.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I don't know why - it just came up in The Truth Project class last night.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Friday I was out and about and came across the following exotic antelope within a 'high fence' game ranch near Strawn. I could not identify the species - anyone out there know? The best guess I can make is albino blackbuck.

No, this isn't where the suspected Dallas terrorist lives. It's out west. It may be hard to tell, but there are five of the dome shaped structures on this property (one is obscured by the bushes to the left of the street sign).

I guess these were designed to be tornado-proof living quarters.

But I couldn't help thinking it would be funny to paint them orange for Halloween.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

So today I'm driving between Newark and Rhome, or maybe between Boyd and Decatur, and this song comes on the radio - I probably haven't heard it in 20+ years. The fog hadn't yet cleared, so it really kinda made me wish I was on a beach down in Jamaica. I don't know where this footage came from, but I bet he was on The Midnight Special at some point:

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Well, the weather went south, but since the firing line is covered, I still managed to get the poodle-shooter out to see if it would print on paper.

It did.

Not knowing if the rifle had been properly sighted in, I shot at the 50 yard range. The extreme spread shown is 2.625". If this grouping had been at 100 yards, I'd be very pleased. As it is, I was having some difficulty getting a good sight picture with my eyeglasses, fading daylight, and the fixed 4x scope. Nonetheless, the rifle appears to be capable of greater accuracy than the person firing it.

Recoil was very tame. I was shooting some necked down .308 case loads that came with the rifle. The reloader's notes indicated that the 75 grain hollow points had been chrono'd at 3400 f/s. Since there were some incipient neck cracks (possibly because the reloader didn't anneal the cases during the sizing/seating operations), and because I have enough actual .243 headstamped brass, I won't reload these cases.

As Denney Crane noted in the prior post comments, small calibers, with the right load and accurately placed, can take a wide range of game animals. And although I've yet to hunt with this particular rifle, I can attest to the fun of uncasing its diminutive stable mate in deer camp, to the hoots of wannabe macho men (with their .338 Win. Magnums, or Weatherby this or that), and returning back to camp the following evening with one deer and one empty cartridge. One shot, one kill.

Next time, I may try a higher power scope than the Weaver K4 (or wear my contact lenses). I think a fixed 6 or 6.5x would be just about right, but will probably just mount an inexpensive 3-9x variable on it.

Note: No poodles, or canines of any kind, were harmed in the testing of the rifle today.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

My aspiration for today was to take the poodle-shooter to the range to see if I could make it put holes in paper at 100 yards. I purchased said poodle-shooter nearly three years ago and have yet to fire a shot through it - it is very similar to one I had as a kid, with which I shot my first deer and turkey. (Its stable mate, in 6mm Rem., purchased about 15 years ago, has served well - I've taken a whitetail and a Sika deer, each with one shot, and my oldest son shot his first deer, also with one shot.) Unfortunately, there was a match going on at the range, and even though it didn't require all the lanes of fire, there was no open shooting.

Maybe next time...

Editorial note: The author of this blog has never shot any poodles and doesnot advocate the shooting of poodles. The term "poodle-shooter" is simply a derisive, or in this case, self-deprecating, term for a small caliber rifle. Shooting of Paris Hilton-style dogs, if you can call them such, is a topic open for discussion, subject to the constraints of your conscience, applicable game laws, and local ordinances.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Let's start with Letterman. Never have been a huge fan, but he doesn't irritate me like Conan. Lots of hubbub lately about his dalliances. Interestingly, I guess since he's in the entertainment biz, the feminists are not atwitter about his bagging a staffer. My perspective is that while he's seemingly said the 'right' things about being sorry for letting his employees down, and his wife, he's been silent about this being a moral failing. Just not au courant to discuss morals, I suppose.

Jon & Kate? Did this guy have a job ever before? Enough already! Now.

The guy who secretly video'd Erin Andrews. What a scumbag! I mean, I certainly can understand the motivation - she's a knockout babe. But is there no respect for the privacy of another person? Maybe it's related to the notion that we no longer discuss, dare I say, morals, in public anymore. Gotta keep that kind of antiquated concept bottled up in the churches and such, don'tcha know?

OK, maybe I can eke out ONE rave: A Dallas jury found former councilman Don Hill guilty of ethics & bribery violations.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Maybe that's a bit strong, but today I had two fine dining experiences, neither of which involved the burger legend.

As I was working diligently today, I found myself, through wind and rain, in the vast metropolis of Weatherford. Since I was smack-dab in downtown, I did the right thing and dropped into Yesterday's, just off the square, for a club sandwich and a brownie. If you've never tasted their bread, you haven't lived. Great food.

Later, as I was trying to thin out the freezer at home, I found an Angus beef 1/3 or 1/2 pound patty, which, with a couple of dollops of leftover lamb chili I'd made last week, colby-jack cheese, tomato and onion, made a mighty fine burger - hence the title to this post.

So the headline read for an AOL story on an updated service for Edgar Allen Poe.

OK, if you ask me, it seems perhaps more of a PR stunt for Baltimore. But, it is the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth, and, in this economy, maybe any celebration is a good thing.

Now, as I understand it, there will be many re-enactors of Poe contemporaries taking part in the funeral, and John Astin (he of the Addams Family) will be master of ceremonies. The author's actual physical remains are not being moved from their burial place.

I think it would be cool, though, to do a mock burial under some floor boards (The Tell Tale Heart) or perhaps an entombment behind a wall of stone (A Cask of Amontillado).